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Page 12 2016 Scotties Tournament of Hearts • Wednesday, February 24, 2016
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Manitoba coach Patti Wuthrich says matching rocks is key.
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Ever wonder what coaches do during
practices, as they walk around taking
notes, kicking rocks, setting up shot
scenarios and chatting with their curlers?
In some ways, especially with the younger
teams, they’re like parents watching over
their children, giving them advice and trying
to guide them on the right path of life. Only
on the sheets of ice of Revolution Place, the
tips the coaches are giving are about deliveries,
releases and ice tendencies. Tips designed
to help guide the curlers to victories.
“Keep an eye on the gals, their deliveries,
give them tips and that,” Prince Edward
Island coach Danny Christianson says of his
duties during practices. “Watching the ice,
talking out loud with them to make sure they
get used to me. We spend a lot of time on
club ice so it’s a little different mentality.
“So I try to help them visualize and remind
them of things that are different. It’s
mostly positive reinforcement.”
Manitoba coach Patti Wuthrich says the
No. 1 thing she’s watching is to try to match
rocks.
“And B, if there’s little things that have
entered into someone’s delivery they can
quickly correct it and then give them a
chance to continue to throw and reinforce
whatever it is.”
By JOHN KOROBANIK
HeartChart Assistant Editor
Then, she says, she’s watching to make
sure each player’s delivery release is “consistent
with the rocks and the ice surface
you’re going out on because not all ice surfaces
allow the same techniques in release.
“Here we seem to have quite a bit of curl,
rocks are finishing hard so you want to release
and make sure you have enough rotation
on it and you’re out to the broom.”
Most coaches take notes, some more than
others, so they know what they want to discuss
with the players in post-practice meetings.
“I’m a little bit old school,” says Christianson,
who doesn’t take a lot of notes. “I
took a few key ones and I’ll make a few
more when I go in.”
On the day before the Scotties kicked off,
he was studying the rocks.
“You have some information on them
when you come so if you see anything different
you make notes about that.”
Coaches also want to make sure the players
are talking on the ice, especially here
where they say communication is vital.
See COACHES
Page 14